SOCIALISTS IN SPAIN IN TROUBLE
It would appear that the local and regional elections in Spain have resulted in a massive reduction in support for the PSOE (socialist) party – who, it seems, are now not the most voted for party in any region in Spain. This is a huge blow to PSOE Prime Minister Zapatero and a devastating inditement of his policies over the past seven years.
The scale of the defeat of the socialist party is well illustrated in my local town of Gandia in Valencia Province. The socialists have held power in Gandia for an incredible 28 years but have now lost it to the conservative party (the PP) who have a clear majority of 13 seats (out of the 25 available). This means that the new Mayor will be Arturo Torró, a successful businessman, who may well be able to provide the leadership urgently needed to regenerate the town.
It would be no exageration to say that, for Gandia, the socialist defeat is a ‘turn around’ of almost historic proportions. Indeed, if this has been mirrored across Spain then the socialists face a massacre in next year’s national elections in Spain.
I think few people are surprised by the election results in Spain. The country is reeling with economic problems, an unemployment rate of 21.3% and a justified belief that the socialists simply do not know how to extract Spain from its current difficulties.
Certainly, the Spanish population seem to have finally realised that the socialist (PSOE) government have grossly mismanaged the Spanish economy over the past few years and that they are responsible for Spain’s devastating boom and bust. This has been obvious to many commentators for years – with clear paralells with the UK and the ‘boom and bust’, innumerate policies of Brown and Blair of the Labour party.
Of course, running alongside the current fury over socialist mismanagment has been the disenchantment of Spaniards with politics in Spain – regardless of the political party. As such, you should be careful not to believe that votes cast for the conservative (PP) party indicate whole hearted approval. The PP is tainted by corruption and the votes cast for the PP are probably as much about ‘change for changes sake’ as any philosphical change in beliefs.
That said, rather like the UK, there is a general perception in Spain that the PP are better at running the economy in Spain than the socialists. During a booming economy, of course, this clearly did not seem to matter but now it clearly does – and rightly so. Mind you, whether the PP or any other political party can make a difference to Spain’s economy is open to question. I suspect that the ‘cupboard is bare’ and that movement for constructive action (let alone meaningful investment) is very restricted.
But what of the Indignados and the ‘Spanish Revolution’ that has erupted over the past week – I hear you ask?
Well, I have yet to see the impact they made on the elections – their aim being to persuade people not to vote. This was on the basis of a well-grounded belief in the inate degeneracy and corruption of politics in Spain.
My instinct is that we have yet to see the full impact of the Indignados who, it seems, have considerable support and the sympathy of many Spaniards, of all ages. However, the movement is still incoherent and I am not really sure what they want, apart from jobs and the operation of some rather sweet ideals.
Certainly, the Indignados fury at corruption within Spanish politics is more than justified. However, corruption in Spain is endemic within every aspect of life – public, business and otherwise – and to change that would require a fundamental change to the very culture of Spain. This would be a ‘Spanish Revolution, Indeed!
Frankly, if the population become less corrupt then I am sure that the politicians will also follow suit but currently Spanish politicians do no more than reflect the actions and morals of the rest of the nation (however charming!).
Time, of course, will tell but I suspect that we shall hear a good deal more from the Indignados…
Nick Snelling – Culture Spain
FURTHER RELEVANT ARTICLES – ELECTION RESULTS 2011
Protests in Spain – is democracy in Spain in danger?
Politics and democracy in Spain